After a call was made for an ‘unreserved apology’ from four-time world champion Max Verstappen after his Spanish Grand Prix antics, this was a sentiment that was felt around various Formula 1 circles.
Verstappen appeared to intentionally crash into Mercedes’ George Russell near the end of last weekend’s race, landing him a 10-second penalty, but some believed that to be a very lenient punishment for the crime, including Nico Rosberg, who said that Verstappen should have been disqualified altogether.
However, perhaps more telling was Verstappen’s attitude to the incident after the race. In his post-race interview with Sky Sports F1’s Rachel Brookes, the Dutchman said that it ‘doesn’t matter’ whether his move on Russell was intentional or not.
It does matter, Max. It matters a lot. While Russell was able to carry on in the race and secure a fourth-place finish, it could have been a lot worse for the Brit, and for Verstappen himself.
His mistake could simply be described as a rush of blood, his attitude in his post-race interview be excused for the fact he had just been involved in a very dramatic incident but, when the dust settles, Verstappen will surely apologise, won’t he?
That was the feeling on Sunday and in the aftermath of the race on Monday morning, but Verstappen’s meek statement released on Monday had one glaring omission. An apology.
Verstappen defiant in official statement
“We had an exciting strategy and good race in Barcelona, till the safety car came out,” Verstappen explained to his followers on Instagram.
“Our tyre choice to the end and some moves after the safety car restart fuelled my frustration, leading to a move that was not right and shouldn’t have happened.
“I always give everything out there for the team and emotions can run high. You win some together, you lose some together. See you in Montreal.”
That half-hearted attempt at saying ‘I was wrong, I’m sorry’ didn’t actually include a rather vital ingredient; an apology.
It’s the least Russell deserved, but perhaps it’s a sign that their previous feud has not yet been resolved.
Throw it back to the 2024 Qatar GP, when Verstappen accused Russell of trying to get him a penalty in the stewards’ room following qualifying, after a case of impeding for the Dutchman led to him losing his pole position.
Russell then came out and described Verstappen as a ‘bully’, even alleging that Verstappen had threatened to ‘put him in the wall’ during the race, comments that Verstappen denied saying.
At the end-of-season drivers dinner, Verstappen and Russell then sat as far away from each other as possible, and it is unclear as to whether the pair have spoken about their feud since.
While Verstappen’s boiled over frustrations at the Spanish GP likely would have resulted in him producing the move he did on any driver in that particular situation, rather than him singling out Russell, the fact he hasn’t apologised since the incident may be down to the previous feud between the pair.
What has Russell said on the incident
In his post-race interview, Russell warned Verstappen to consider the impact his actions have on the people who look up to him, with the Dutchman being one of the greatest drivers in F1 history statistics-wise.
“I was as surprised as you guys were. I’ve seen those sort of manoeuvres before on simulator games and go-karting but never in F1.
“Ultimately we came home in P4 and he came home in P10. I don’t really know what was going through his mind. It felt deliberate in the moment, so it felt surprising.”
On whether Verstappen should have been given a black flag and therefore disqualified, Russell’s measured verdict was: “It’s not my place to say. Right now, I’m not going to give it any thought because we have our own problems to deal with.
“We are trying to make our car go faster. The safety car at the end shuffled things up. It’s down to the stewards to decide if it was deliberate or not.”
Despite the pair’s heated history, Russell praised his rival somewhat, saying: “Max is such an amazing driver and so many people look up to him. It’s just a shame something like that continues to occur. It seems totally unnecessary and never seems to benefit himself.”
We will hopefully find out at next weekend’s Canadian GP whether Verstappen has apologised to Russell privately or not, but the Dutchman needs to apologise publicly too.
Failure to do so only exacerbates the feeling that the Dutchman holds no regard for the sport, or for his rivals, and that he is beginning to fall out of love with F1 now that he is no longer winning every race.
